Poker Hand Rankings

About the Deck of Cards

The standard deck of cards has 54 cards -- 13 playings cards in four different suits and two jokers (jokers are removed
from the deck for Texas Hold'em).
The four suits are Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts. Each suit has an Ace card; numbered cards from 2-10; and three "court" or "face" cards, the
Jack, Queen, and King.

In Texas Hold'em, the ace may be used as either the low card (one) or high card (following the king). For example,
both of the following are legitimate straights (in a game, the second hand is the winning hand):

Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 (5-high straight)

10, J, Q, K, Ace (ace-high straight)

Hand Rankings

Texas Hold'em uses standard poker hand rankings and value to determine the winning hand. The following list
ranks the hands from best to worst.

Name

Description

Royal Flush

The Royal Flush (sometimes called the Royal Straight Flush) is the highest hand that can be dealt.
It is also the rarest, so don't expect to see a lot of these. In fact, don't be surprised if you never see one.

In a Royal Flush, all five cards must be of the same suit, numerically sequenced, begin with the 10 card and end with the Ace.

Straight Flush

Whenever you have a "flush" it means all of your cards are the same suit (hearts, spades, clubs, or diamonds).

Whenever you have a "straight" it means all of your cards are in numerical sequence.

In a straight flush, you have five cards of the same suit AND in numerical sequence.

If two players have a straight flush (and there is no higher hand), the player with the straight flush with the highest ranking card
wins. For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 7d (winner)

Player Two: 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s

Four Of A Kind

Four of a kind means you have four cards with the same numeric value in each
of the four suits.

If two players have four of a kind (and there is no higher hand), the player of the four of a kind
with the highest numeric value wins. For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8h, 8d, 8s, 8c (winner)

Player Two: 5h, 5d, 5s, 5c

Full House

A full house is a combination of three of a kind (three cards with the
same numeric value in three different suits) and one pair (two cards with the same numeric
value in two different suits).

If two players have a full house (and there is no higher hand), the player of the full house
with the highest ranking three of a kind
wins. For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: Ks, Kh, Kd, 2s, 2c (winner)

Player Two: Qh, Qd, Qc, Ad, Ah

Flush

Whenever you have a flush, it means you have five cards of the same suit (hearts, spades, clubs, or diamonds).

If two players have a flush (and there is no higher hand), the player of the flush
with the highest ranking card wins.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: Kh, 10h, 5h, 3h, 2h (winner)

Player Two: Qd, 10d, 9d, 8d, 4d

Straight

Whenever you have a straight, all of your cards are in numerical sequence.

If two players have a straight (and there is no higher hand), the player of the straight
with the highest ranking card wins.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 7h, 8h, 9d, 10s, Jh (winner)

Player Two: 2d, 3h, 4c, 5d, 6c

Three Of A Kind

Three of a kind means you have three cards with the same numeric value in
three different suits.

If two players have three of a kind (and there is no higher hand), the player of the three of a kind
with the highest numeric value wins. For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 6d, 6h, 6c (winner)

Player Two: 4h, 4c, 4s

Two Pair

Two Pair means you have two pairs of cards where is each "pair" consists of two
cards of the same numeric value.

If two players have two pair (and there is no higher hand), the player with the highest ranking pair is the winner.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h, 2h, 2c (winner)

Player Two: 7h, 7d, 6c, 6s

If two players have two pair and matching high cards, the player with highest ranking second pair is the winner.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h, 7h, 7c (winner)

Player Two: 8s, 8d, 6c, 6s

If two players have two pair of identical pairs, the fifth card of the hand comes into play. If the fifth card is
one of the community cards, the two players split the pot. If the fifth card is a pocket/hole card, the player with the highest ranking card wins.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h, 7h, 7c, 9h (winner)

Player Two: 8s, 8d, 7d, 7s, 3d

One Pair

One Pair means you have one pair of cards that consists of two
cards of the same numeric value.

If two players have one pair (and there is no higher hand), the player with the highest ranking pair is the winner.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h (winner)

Player Two: 7h, 7d

If two players each have one pair of the same numeric value,
the player with highest ranking card from their other three cards is the winner.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h, 7h, 6c, 3h (winner)

Player Two: 8s, 8d, 6c, 5s, 2h

If two players each have one pair of the same numeric value and matching high cards,
the player with highest ranking card from their other two cards is the winner.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h, 7h, 6c, 3h (winner)

Player Two: 8s, 8d, 7c, 5s, 2h

If two players each have one pair of the same numeric value and two matching cards,
the player with highest ranking card from their last card is the winner.
For example, in the following two hands, Player One is the winner:

Player One: 8c, 8h, 7h, 6c, 3h (winner)

Player Two: 8s, 8d, 7c, 6s, 2h

If two players each have one pair of the same numeric value and three matching cards,
the players split the pot.

High Card

High Card is the highest ranking card in your hand when you can't make any
of the above combinations. Not a strong betting position as even a
wretched pair of twos can beat you.